PRACTICAL

Group No.
MACKINTOSH PROBE TEST

1
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

BNC 41203
BUILDING FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY

PRACTICAL NO. 2

TITLE ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY TEST

DATE OF PRACTICAL WORK 14 FEBUARY 2021

MATRIX
NAME NO.
1. ABDUL MUHAIMIN BIN ABU BAKAR AN170199

2. AMIDI BIN ADAM CN170056

3. MUHAMAD FAZLI BIN MOHD DIAH AN180169

GROUP MEMBERS
4. SYAHMIN NASRULLAH BIN
AN170100
MAHASSAN
5. SITI IZZATUL AISYAH BINTI MOHD
CN180042
SORANI
6. WONG NGIIK ZHING AN170252

1. TS. MOHD FAHMI BIN ABDUL RAHMAN

LECTURER / INSTRUCTOR
2. DR. MOHD HAFIZAL BIN HANIPAH

RECEIVED DATE AND STAMP

TOTAL MARK (FROM

RUBRIC ASSESSMENT)
 STUDENT CODE OF ETHICS DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
TECHNOLOGY

I hereby declare that I have prepared this report with my own efforts. I also admit to not accept or provide

any assistance in preparing this report and anything that is in it is true.

1) Group Leader

(Signature

Name : _______________________________________
Matrix No. : _______________________________________

2) Group Member 1 (Signature)

Name : _______________________________________
Matrix No : _______________________________________

3) Group Member 2 (Signature)

Name : _______________________________________
Matrix No. : _______________________________________

4) Group Member 3 (Signature)

Name : _______________________________________
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5) Group Member 4 (Signature)

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 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PAGE NO :
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING EDITION : 1
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW NO : 1
BUILDING FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVE DATE : FEB 2021
TITLE : ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY TEST AMENDMENT DATE : FEB 2021

1.0 OBJECTIVE

The ultrasonic pulse velocity method could be used for:-

i. The homogeneity of the concrete.
ii. The presence of cracks, voids and other imperfections.
iii. Changes in the structure of the concrete which may occur with time,
iv. The quality of the concrete in relation to standard requirements,
v. The quality of one element of concrete in relation to another, and
vi. The values of dynamic elastic modulus of the concrete.
vii. To study the quality of existing structure and the location of internal defect

2.0 LEARNING OUTCOME

1. Able to determine the uniformity of concrete in or between members with according to

clause 8, BS 1881: Part 203: 1986.
2. Able to detect of the presence and approximate extent of crack, voids, and other defects
with according to clause 9, BS 1881: Part 203: 1986.
3. Able to correlate the pulse velocity and strength as a measure of concrete quality with
according to clause 12, BS 1881: Part 203: 1986.
4. Able to determine the modules of elasticity and dynamic Poisson’s ration of concrete
with according to clause 12, BS 1881 ; Part 203 1986\

3.0 THEORY

The Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) test is one of the methods which are used to obtain
information about the interior of a concrete structure with two accessible surfaces (transducers).
The most known instrument, which we used in the lab, is the PUNDIT (Portable Ultrasonic
Non-destructive Digital Indicating Tester). This comes with two transducers and one
calibration rod to adjust the readings before any test.

The underlying principle of this test is the method consist of measuring the time travel of an
ultrasonic pulse passing through the concrete being tested. Comparatively higher velocity is
obtained when concrete quality is good in terms of density, uniformity, homogeneity, etc. one
of the important things in this test is having a good acoustical coupling between the face of

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 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PAGE NO :
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING EDITION : 1
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW NO : 1
BUILDING FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVE DATE : FEB 2021
TITLE : ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY TEST AMENDMENT DATE : FEB 2021

each transducer and the concrete surface by using a medium such as grease, handed cream or
jelly.

There are three major ways through which the transducers may be arranged, as shown in
figure 3.1 below.
a. Opposite faces (direct method)
b. Adjacent faces (semi–direct method)
c. Same faces (indirect method)

Figure 3.1: Transducer arrangement

The quality of concrete in terms of uniformity, incidence or absence of internal flaws, cracks
and segregation, etc, indicative of the level of workmanship employed, can thus be assessed
using the guidelines given in the table 3.1 below, which have been evolved for characterizing
the quality of concrete structures in terms of the ultrasonic pulse velocity.

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 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PAGE NO :
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING EDITION : 1
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW NO : 1
BUILDING FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVE DATE : FEB 2021
TITLE : ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY TEST AMENDMENT DATE : FEB 2021

Table 3.1: Level of workmanship employed

4.0 APPARATUS

i.Pulse generator circuit and transducer

ii.Receiving circuit and transducer
iii.Display unit
iv.Time measuring circuit

Figure 4.1: Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity

5.0 SAMPLE
i. Concrete block

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 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PAGE NO :
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING EDITION : 1
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW NO : 1
BUILDING FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVE DATE : FEB 2021
TITLE : ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY TEST AMENDMENT DATE : FEB 2021

6.0 PROCEDURE

6.1 Basic Measurement

1. Switch on the mains and apply little amount of grease to the two transducer faces.
2. Use the reference bar to check and adjust the time reading on the instrument to be
the same as the calibration number on the bar. Adjust the ‘SET REF’ control until
the reference bar transit time is obtained on the instrument read-out.

6.2 Pulse Velocity

1. In order to determine the pulse velocity, it is compulsory to measure the path length
between the two transducers.
2. Press the transducers hardly onto the concrete opposite surfaces, and hold for a while
to allow readings to be taken, wait until a consistent reading appears on the display
screen of the instrument.
3. Record the stable reading, which is the Time (T) in microseconds (𝜇𝑠) for ultrasonic
pulse to travel the path length and pulse velocity (V) in m/s. The mean value of the
display readings should be taken when the unit digit hunts between two values.

Path Length
Pulse Velocity = ( )
Travel Time

4. Separation of transducer leads: It is advisable to prevent the two transducer leads

from coming into close contact with each other when the transit time measurements
are being taken. If this is not done, the receiver lead might pick-up unwanted signals
from the transmitter lead and this would result in an incorrect display of the transit
time.

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 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PAGE NO :
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING EDITION : 1
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW NO : 1
BUILDING FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVE DATE : FEB 2021
TITLE : ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY TEST AMENDMENT DATE : FEB 2021

7.0 DATA ANALYSIS

Pulse Crack Compressive

Distance Time
Velocity Width Strength
S. No (mm) (𝜇𝑠)
(Km/s) (mm) (N/mm2)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

To determine the compressive strength of concrete, graph as shown below is used to indicate
the relationship between the pulse velocity and compressive strength of concrete.

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 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PAGE NO :
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING EDITION : 1
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW NO : 1
BUILDING FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVE DATE : FEB 2021
TITLE : ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY TEST AMENDMENT DATE : FEB 2021

7.0 DISCUSSION

1. From the test result, give your comments on the quality of the test specimen.
2. What are advantages and disadvantages of the UPV Test?
3. Can we use UPV to monitor the quality of concrete during construction

8.0 REFERENCES

Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Meter. Available online:

http://www.iricen.gov.in/LAB/res/pdf/test-32.pdf (accessed on 14 February 2021).
W. Al-Kutti & M. A. Aziz. (2018). Non-Destructive Testing Laboratory Manual. Department
of Civil and Construction Engineering Iman Abdulrahiman Bin Faisal University.
D. K. Rambang, D. D. Dasing, Ruszaimi Kamsah, M. Khairulizz Bisi, D. H. Zahin, K. Z.
Yuan. ( 2016). Experiment NBT 1: Rebound Hammer Test & Experiment NDT 2:
UPV Test. KA21801 Concrete and Lab Material Non Destructive Test.
Zean. (2011, March 10). Test1_Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test.
https://www.scribd.com/document/50465244/Test-1-Ultrasonic-Pulse-Velocity-Test
Silverm. (2011, March 15). Lab 1 Exp 1. https://www.scribd.com/doc/50802856/LAB-1-
EXP-1